1.1 OBJECT OF THE GAME.   Nine Ball is played with nine object balls numbered one through nine and a cue ball. On each shot the first ball the cue ball contacts must be the lowest numbered ball on the table, but the balls need not be pocketed in order. If a player pockets any ball until he misses, fouls, or wins the hame by pocketing the 9-ball. After a miss, the incoming player must shoot from the position left by the previous player, but after any foul the incoming player may start with the cue ball anywhere on the table. Players are not required to call any shot. A match ends when one of the players has won the required number of games.

1.2 RACKING THE BALLS.   The object balls are racked in a diamond shape, with the one ball at the top of the diamond and on the foot spot, the nine ball in the center of the diamond, and the other balls in random order, racked as tightly as possible. The hame begins with cue ball in hand behind the head string.

1.3 LEGAL BREAK SHOT.   The rules governing the break shot are the same as for other shots except:

1.   The breaker must strike the 1-ball first and either pocket a ball or drive at least four numbered balls to the rail.
2.   if the cue ball is pocketed or driven off the table, or the requirements of the opening break are not met, it is a foul, and the incoming player has cue ball in hand anywhere on the table.
3.   If on the break shot, the breaker causes an object ball to jump off the table, it is a foul and the incoming player has cue ball in hand anywhere on the table. The object ball is not re spotted (exception: If the object ball is the 9-ball it is re spotted.)

1.4 CONTINUING PLAY.   On the shot immediately following a legal break, the shooter may play a "push out." (See Rule 1.5). If the breaker pockets one or more balls on a legal break, he continues to shoot until he misses, fouls, or wins the game. If the player misses or fouls, the other player begins his inning and shoots until he misses, fouls, or wins. The hame ends when the nine ball is pocketed on a legal shot, or the game is forfeited for a serious infraction of the rules.

1.5 PUSH OUT.   The player who shoots the shot immediately after a legal break may play a push out in an attempt to move the cue ball into a better position for the option that follows. On a push out, the cue ball is not required to contact any object ball nor any rail, but all other foul rules still apply. The player must announce his intention of playing a push out before the shot, or the shot is considered to be a normal shot. Any ball pocketed on a push out does not count and remains pocketed except the 9-ball. Following a legal push out, the incoming player is permitted to shoot from that position or to pass the shot back to the player who pushed out. A push out is not considered to be a foul as long as no rule (except rules 1.7 & 1.8) is violated. An illegal push out is penalized according to the type of foul committed. After a player scratches on the break shot, the incoming player cannot play a push out.

1.6 FOULS.   When a player commits a foul, he must relinquish his run at the table and no balls pocketed on the foul shot are spotted (exception: if a pocketed ball is the 9-ball, it is respotted.) The incoming player is awarded ball in hand; prior to his first shot he may place the cue ball anywhere on the table. If a player commits several fouls on one shot, they are counted as one foul.

1.7 BAD HIT.   If the first object ball contacted by the cue ball is not the lowest numbered ball on the table, the shot is a foul.

1.8 NO RAIL.   If no object ball is pocketed, failure to drive the cue ball or any numbered ball to a rail after the cue ball contacts the object ball on is a foul.

1.9 IN HAND.   When the cue ball is in hand, the player may place the cue ball anywhere on the bed of the table, except in contact with an object ball. He may continue to adjust the position of th cue ball until he takes a shot.

1.10 OBJECT BALLS JUMPED OFF THE TABLE.   An unpocketed ball is considered to be driven off the table if it comes to rest other than on the bed of the table. It is a foul to drive an object ball off the table. The jumped object ball(s) is not spotted and play continues.

1.11 JUMP AND MASSE SHOT FOUL.   If a match is not refereed, it will be considered a cue ball foul if during an attempt to jump, curve or masse the cue ball over or around an impeding numbered ball, the impeding ball moves (regardless of whether it was moved by a hand, cue stick follow-through or bridge).

1.12 THREE CONSECUTIVE FOULS.   If a player fouls three consecutive times on three successive shots without making an intervening legal shot, he loses the game. The three fouls must occur in one game. The warning must be given between the second and third fouls. A players inning begins when it is legal for him to take a shot and ends at the end of a shot on which he misses, fouls or wins, or when he fouls between shots.

1.13 CUE BALL FOULS ONLY.   When a referee is presiding over a match, it is a foul for a player to touch any ball (cue ball or object ball) with the cue, clothing, body, mechanical bridge or chalk, before, during or after a shot.
However, when a referee is not presiding over a game, it is not a foul to accidentally touch stationary object balls located between the cue ball and the shooter while in the act of shooting. If such an accident occurs, the player should allow the Tournament Director to restore the object balls to their correct positions. If the player does not allow such a restoration, and a ball set in motion as a normal part of the shot touches such an un restored ball, or passes partly into a region originally occupied by a disturbed ball, the shot is a foul. In short, if the accident has any effect on the outcome of the shot, it is a foul. In any case, the Tournament Director must be called upon to restore tho positions of the disturbed balls as soon as possible, but not during the shot. It is a foul to play another shot before the Tournament Director has restored any accidentally moved balls.
At the non shooting players option, the disturbed balls will be left in their new positions. In this case, the balls are considered restored, and subsequent contact on them is not a foul.
It is still a foul to make any contact with the cue ball whatsoever while it is in play, except for the normal tip-to-ball contact during a shot.

1.14 SPLIT HITS.   If the cue ball strikes a legal object ball and a non-legal object at approximately the same instant, and it cannot be determined which ball was hit first, the judgement will go in favor of the shooter.

1.15 JUDGING DOUBLE HITS.   When the distance between the cue ball and the object ball is less than the width of a chalk cube, special attention from the referee or an appointed third party is required. In such a situation, unless the referee can positively determine a legal shot has been performed, the following guidance may apply; If the cue ball follows through the object ball more than 1/2 ball, it is a foul.

1.16 OBJECT BALL FROZEN TO CUSHION OR CUE BALL.   This rule applies to any shot where the cue balls first contact with a ball si with one that is frozen to a cushion, or to the cue ball itself. After the cue ball makes contact with the frozen object ball, the shot must result in either (1) a ball being pocketed, or (2) the cue ball contacting a cushion, or (3) the frozen ball being caused to contact a cushion (not merely rebounding from the cushion it was frozen to), or (4) another object ball being caused to contact a cushion to which it was not already in contact with. Failure to satisfy one of those four requirements is a foul and the incoming player has cue ball in hand.
An object ball is not considered frozen to a rail unless it is examined and announced as such by either the referee or one of the players prior to that object ball being involved in a shot.

1.17 CONCESSION.   If a player concedes, he loses the game. If a player attempts to unscrew his jointed cue stick while the opponent is at the table, it will be considered a concession of the game. No warning from the referee is required in the case of a concession.

1.18 SLOW PLAY.   If in the opinion of the referee player is impeding the progress of the tournament or game with consistently slow play, the referee can warn the player and then at his discretion impose a maximum forty-five second time limit and that time is rewarded with cue ball in hand.

1.19 END OF GAME.   A game starts as soon as the cue ball crosses over the head string on the opening break. The 1-ball must be legally contacted on the break shot. The game ends at the end of a legal shot which pockets the 9-ball; or when a player forfeits the game as the result of a foul.

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